Social media users oppose vaccination requirements to travel to Saudi Arabia

Polio Pulse

Polio Pulse provides social listening insights to support GPEI’s polio interventions on disinformation, crisis communication, and strategic communication. Data is monitored from polio-endemic and outbreak countries and geographies classified by GPEI, covering 12 major languages spoken in these regions. The platform is managed by the UNICEF Digital Community Engagement (DCE) team.

Analysis

An Indonesian designer with over 180,000 social media followers recently posted a complaint about the vaccination requirements for performing the Islamic pilgrimage in Mecca. The Saudi government requires that all travelers from countries with poliovirus circulation, including Indonesia, provide proof of polio vaccination. The post falsely claims that COVID-19 vaccinations are also required to perform Umrah. Some posts call vaccines “fake” and “deadly,” while others suggest that vaccines only exist to make money. One commenter proposes going through Malaysia to bypass vaccination requirements.

Recommendations

Health communicators may explain that vaccines are one of the most cost-effective medical inventions in history. While it’s true that pharmaceutical companies can make a lot of money from vaccines, every dollar spent on vaccines results in saved lives and saved money by preventing deadly and debilitating diseases. Regardless of vaccine profits, the benefits of vaccination are too great to be measured.